Coalition amends Telstra bill in response to "rash" policy
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AAP
October 21 2009, 1:04PM
Nationals leader Warren Truss is concerned the legislation abolishes Telstra's universal service obligation.
Under the changes, it would be up to the relevant minister to decide whether services were provided or not in regional areas, he said.
"We will support measures that increase competition and consumer protection especially in regional areas, however it's not clear whether this bill will achieve those objectives."
Telstra had lost the trust of people in the regions, describing the era under its previous CEO Sol Trujillo as "a disaster" in which the company forgot about its responsibilities to rural areas.
"There does need to be changes in the way in which telecommunications services are delivered in this country.
"Telstra has not behaved as well as it should have over recent times."
But the rights of Telstra's shareholders also need to be considered and respected, Mr Truss said.
"After all they brought a ... vertically-integrated telecommunications company which the government now seeks to break up, so these issues must be constructively addressed."
